Complex Rehab Shower-Commode Chair Roundup


Shower chairs today have much more to offer than simply being able to roll you into the shower. If you’re looking for a simple, one-size-fits-all chair that works, you’ll have plenty of options, and if you need a more complex, customized solution, you’ll be equally happy. To help you make sense of your options and find one that works for you, here is a roundup from some of the leading manufacturers and some of their top products.

Things to Consider When Buying a Shower Chair

Body Type: Unlike a conventional one-size-fits-all toilet seat, a shower-commode seat should fit you with support and padding in a way that minimizes pressure and sheer, as well as a custom wheelchair cushion. Things to consider include: Are you bigger, wider, taller, shorter or narrower than average? Is your spine straight, or does your pelvis have a tilt? Another thing to consider is, where do you prefer the opening for reaching to do your bowel program: front, right, left or rear? What material do you want for your cushion? A commode seat should address all these considerations.

Motility: Motility, a polite way to describe how long it takes to complete a bowel program, is another important consideration when purchasing a chair. Some fortunate wheelers can complete their business in a relatively swift amount of time; for others, it takes hours. The longer you are sitting, the more crucial it is that your seat fits properly.

Mobility: If you transfer independently, a self-propel upright shower-commode chair is likely the correct choice. However, depending on your level of injury, you may want to choose a chair with some seat dump to help prevent sliding forward and sheer.
If you rely on an attendant, an attendant-assist chair with smaller caster wheels will offer more mobility. You may also prefer a chair with tilt to keep you in place and allow for weight shifts during long bowel programs.

Travel: Finally, how often do you travel? If you are on a limited budget and can only afford one chair, you might consider a chair designed to collapse into a travel bag rather than having to purchase a separate chair.

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GO! Mobility Solutions

blue shower chair
GO-Anywhere SP: $2,495
GO-Anywhere CS: $2,095

As the name suggests, Go! Mobility Solutions chairs are designed to work well at home and are easily packed into their custom bag for travel. Every model can add seat bucket dump for positioning and avoiding shear. Standard cushions come with 1-inch memory foam and the option to upgrade to 2-inch. Seats feature a front opening and tapered sides for doing a bowel program, and the company offers side fillers for the tapered area for those needing more support.

GO-Anywhere SP is a self-propel chair that uses front- or back-mounted 20-inch wheels. It is adjustable in both seat height and footrest length. It has a narrow width of just 23.5 inches for passing through narrow bathroom doorways.

shower chair packed into a custom bag for travel

GO-Anywhere CS: The CS has the same features as the Go-Anywhere SP, but in an attendant-assist version with four 5-inch casters, giving it a super-thin, 18-inch width for narrow bathroom doors.

Nuprodx Mobility

In addition to 13 different wheeled models, Nuprodx offers lots of options to ensure a proper fit, including frame size, two seat opening sizes, standard or gel cushion and three seat depth options. The company will make custom cushions fabricated to a customer’s specifications. Back options include height, width, material and padding. There is a user measurement guide, bathroom fitting guide, and option to upload photos or sketches of the bathroom for a more optimal fit.

MC4020: A self-propelled, modular-design chair with built-in adjustability of seat to floor height and leg rest height.

MC4000 Tilt: An attendant-assisted, tilt-in-space chair.

Shower Buddy

shower buddy shower chair
SB7E Roll-In Eco Travel: $295
Wheelable Folding Travel Chair: $1,696

Shower Buddy says its primary focus is providing quality, affordable chairs for the customer. The company’s seven options generally have a lower price point than its competitors but fewer customizable parts.

SB7E Roll-In Eco Travel: A basic upright, attendant-assist chair that fits into a carrying case and comes at a very low price.

Wheelable Folding Travel Chair: A great option for wheelers on the go. It is a self-propelled, mid-wheel chair — with fore and aft casters for balance — that easily folds into a compact travel case with a total weight of 25 pounds.

Active Aid

All seven Active Aid chairs are made from stainless steel for durability and long life. The company offers a selection of different seat options for optimal skin protection.

285 Tilt: The 285 offers 40 degrees of tilt and the option of four casters for attendant assist or 24-inch rear wheels for self-propelling. Available in seven different seat sizes, different padding densities and materials, and 285 options to match a user’s needs. The 285TR comes with tilt and recline.

600: The 600 has all the seat and caster options — self-propel or attendant assist — without the tilt.

Raz Design Inc.

Raz Design offers 11 different wheeled models in an array of configurations. In addition to being ergonomically designed and contoured to minimize pressure and shear, all seats come with Raz’s unique Ischial and Pelvic Alignment System to offload high-risk pressure areas. Seats come in a variety of sizes, widths and depths. You can choose the location of your access opening (front, left, right and rear) as well as its design. Raz will to custom design a solution if needed.

Züm-SP/AP: Raz’s latest offering is a folding chair with a unique forward-mounted cross brace that lets you roll over the toilet yet retains the ability to fold for out-of-the-way storage. The self-propelled model comes with quick-release wheels and 2 inches of center-of-gravity adjustment.

Raz-ART: An attendant-assist chair with the lowest tilt effort in the industry thanks to a patented, dual-arc, orbital tilt system. An attendant can operate the tilt with one hand while standing beside the user in a typical, 5-foot-wide roll-in shower. The chair can also be configured for self-tilt.

Aquatec Ocean Ergo by Invacare

Invacare’s Aquatec Ocean Ergo shower commode chairs offer improved ergonomic features, including a stylish design, contoured seat surfaces, a 5-degree seat tilt, or dump, for stability and a more natural “knees raised” position to aid with bowel programs. Additionally, the chairs are built to enhance your stability with a smaller footprint to be maneuverable in tight spaces. Arm and leg rest heights have a wide range of adjustability and modular parts make it easy to mix and match for the best fit.

Ocean Ergo SP: An upright self-propelled chair on a stainless-steel frame that comes apart easily for transportation or storage.

Ocean Ergo VIP: An attendant-assist chair with adjustable tilt
angle that ranges from 5 degrees to 40 degrees.


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12 Comments
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richard-keeling1959gmail-com
richard-keeling1959gmail-com
2 years ago

I’ll never understand why a basic piece of equipment like a shower chair cost so much $$$

Helga E Dunn
Helga E Dunn
2 years ago

It’s the same reason I paid $5 for a band-aid.

Ersin UYANIK
Ersin UYANIK
2 years ago

because the disabled people has an assistance to skip obstacles by the modern friendly policies(!)

Anthony J
Anthony J
2 years ago

Explain to me why a top-rated trail bike can be had for under $600 and a shower chair is priced at $2k plus.

richard-keeling1959gmail-com
richard-keeling1959gmail-com
2 years ago
Reply to  Anthony J

Or why insurance won’t pay for it. They tell me it’s not a medical necessity but a sex change operation is covered. The world is upside down…

Arthur
Arthur
2 years ago

I have a RAZ self-propel chair. Overall quality is great, but the key-hole shape rear-opening cushion is TERRIBLE – difficult to move around on, hard to transfer on and off, and I think it was starting to give me a pressure sore. I have replaced it with the flatter cushion off my old Invacare Mariner, which is a BIG improvement. Unfortunately Raz doesn’t seem to offer any rear-opening cushions other than the keyhole horror…

Paul
Paul
2 years ago
Reply to  Arthur

Raz has the ability to make a custom cushion the way you like it. Aperture can be any shape & include a rear opening. If you reach out to them they will help you with this.

Arthur
Arthur
2 years ago
Reply to  Paul

Just saw this reply – Thanks for the info, as my understanding when I got the chair (Through Numotion w/ Medicaid funding) was that the supplied cushion was the only option available – I will try reaching out to them again about this.

Jordan
Jordan
2 years ago
Reply to  Arthur

NuMotion is probably the problem!!

Chris
Chris
2 years ago

I’m sorry to see the Graham Field, E&J Rehab Shower Commode Chair left off of this list. As someone who’s been a para for 42 years and sold DME for a number of those, I’ve tried them all. These chairs may be old school, but are the least expensive and have, IMHO, the most useable and comfortable seat of ANY chair on the market. You can check them out here and BTW, I have no affiliation with them . . . https://www.grahamfield.com/Medical_Product/Rehab_Shower_Commode.aspx?p=8

Tiffany
Tiffany
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris

How much do these commode chairs cost? I didn’t see that info on web link.
Is there room to do a bowel program using digital stem tools above standard toilet?

Arthur
Arthur
2 years ago
Reply to  Tiffany

Not sure about other brands or how much space you require, but the RAZ chair I have has a pretty significant range of height adjustments. (obviously boosting the chair will make it less stable, but this is a trade for more room… The other nice thing about the RAZ is that the fore-aft position of the push wheels can be adjusted, to make it more like a ‘sport manual’ instead of a ‘transport’ style chair, again at the cost of stability.